


Last words

by guardiansofthefantasy



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Character Death, Emotional Hurt, Last words, M/M, Open Ending, Temporary Character Death, happy end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 09:29:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10682511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guardiansofthefantasy/pseuds/guardiansofthefantasy
Summary: Bones gets injured on an away mission, Jim gets to spend the last minutes with him.But what if you speak your last words, just to be brought back to life then?





	Last words

Jims heart has never beaten faster. He’s pretty sure about that, now that he hears it racing in his chest. His sweating fingers tighten around Leonards hand. He feels the blood sticking on his uniform.

“Hey, Bones,” he mutters, squeezing the wet hand of his best friend, “I’m here.” Leonard looks at Jim with tired agreement.

“I know,” he whispers dryly, coughing once and Jim bites his lip nervously.

“I’m getting you out of this, I promise,” Jim adds, blinking some tears away.  
Leonard shakes his head shortly, “don’t – don’t promise…somethin’ you can’t keep.”

“I can keep that promise,” Jim mumbles and his other hand presses down more on the wound again.

Leonard shakes his head again, a thin smile on his lips. “You never give up, huh?” His voice is quiet, almost inaudible and Jim swallows. “Never,” he echoes and watches his friend.

“Somethin’ I absolutely love ‘bout ya,” Leonard whispers and closes his eyes for some seconds. Jim immediately pulls him closer. “Okay,” he mutters, “okay, just stay awake. Please, just stay awake for me.”

He thinks he feels him squeezing his hand, but it could have been imagination.

“Bones,” he mumbles, leaning closer, “please open your eyes again.”

“Can’t even die in peace,” he hears him says, he wouldn’t have understood it if he wasn’t that close.

“No,” Jim replies, hands steadying Leonard, “cause you’re not gonna die at all.” His tone doesn’t allow protest, but Leonard never cared about that – as less as Jim always cared about Leonards complaining.

“Oh Jim,” Leonard mumbles weakly, eyes searching Jims tired. “When will you…accept that I’m not…immortal?”

Jim shakes his head in panic. “You can’t leave me! You’re a doctor, you can’t die! Bones, don’t leave me here.”

Leonards lips twitch into a smile. “I love you, Jim.”

“No, don’t tell me that now, c’mon - ” Jim wipes his face over his shoulder to get rid of the tears. “Leonard!,” he hisses angry, hiding his desperation and fear. “C’mon you can’t - ”

 

But the doctor doesn’t respond.

 

Jims fingers search for a pulse, restless, until a rescuing team arrives.

 

Chapel gently pulls him away and looks him over for injuries. Jim doesn’t really notice. His heart is still racing.

They beam Leonard and the medicals up, immediately trying everything to help.  
Jim gets beamed up some seconds later, stepping from the pad in trance. Scotty guides him to his quarters, but Jim doesn’t talk.

He doesn’t do anything until the message from medbay arrives. They got him. He’s stable for the moment. They’re doing everything to get him through.  
Jim goes to visit him right after he got the message. He still didn’t realise everything. The way seems a lot longer than usually.

 

Maybe it is.

 

Jim steps into medbay after standing in front of it hesitating for solid five minutes. Chapel guides him over to Bones and Jim sinks down on the chair next to his bed, just staring at his friend in silence.

“Will he be okay?,” he whispers, not able to keep his professionalism on. He just can’t do that, it’s his best friend after all.

“We’re doing our best,” Chapel answers, reading the information on the displays over the bed and taking notes on her PADD. “But in all honesty, it doesn’t seem like he’ll have much of a chance.” She walks away, leaving Jim with that frightening thought.

“Dammit, Bones,” he mutters, sliding his chair closer to him. “Please don’t do that to me.”

Jim falls asleep there after a while. He's not less exhausted than anyone else. He doesn't even dare to think about all the paperwork that waits for him. He just wants Bones to live.

His state doesn't change a lot the next days. First Jim thinks it's good, because that means he's still stable, then he realises that it's also pretty bad, because Bones isn't getting any better. Which sucks.

Jim doesn't think he could do that all long without his best friend. Once again it proves him how stupid it is to take the most important people from the ship down on away missions - not only because Bones is important to him privately.

He started the habit of doing his work either on the Captain's chair on the bridge or on the small chair next to Bones' bed. He gets equally less done, no matter where he is. He always watches Bones attentively, hoping to see a twitch in the fingers or a flinch on his face.

 

But nothing happens.

 

At some days a nurse needs to accompany him out of medbay, or otherwise he wouldn't get the sleep he needs. Sometimes they let him sleep with his head and arms on Bones' bed.

Surprisingly and against all odds - not that Jim believed in them anyway - Bones seems to get better. Not much at first, but the nurses notices it and tell Jim, even though they're not making him hopes. It could be not lasting for too long.

Not making him hopes definitely didn't work though, because Jim has hopes and damn it, if they crash again.

"Bones," he mutters next time, he's sitting there again, "please, wake up. I need you."

He keeps doing his paperwork next to Bones when he's off shift, one hand holding Bones' tightly, afraid that his friend would disappear should he let go.

"Y'called me Le'nard," Bones whispers out of a sudden at some point and Jim almost drops his PADD. His eyes switch over Leonards face, pale and tired, but not less beautiful than ever before.

"Yeah, I believe I did at some point," Jim replies quietly, softly squeezing Leonards hand. "How do you feel?"

He gets a grumble as response, a very quiet "not much alive" and then Leonard drifts off again, just like that. And it freaks Jim out completely, because _Bones was there, awake and speaking._

It takes the medical stuff two more weeks until they can dismiss Bones from medbay. And probably nobody is happier about that than Bones himself.

 

"You said you love me," Jim points out one evening on the observation deck and Leonard takes another sip from his drink.

"Did I now, huh?," he asks and Jim watches him curious. Leonard doesn't say anything for a while after that.

"Yeah, you did," Jim confirms, staring out in the black now, still waiting for an answer.

"Hm," Leonard makes eventually, "I was dying, what d'you expect?"

Jim doesn't look back at him. "You didn't mean it?"

"Would you want me to?"

"I - I'm not sure," Jim admits, now gazing over to him, just to find Bones already looking at him. "Just...say if that's true."

"Of course it is, kid. I wouldn't be here otherwise."

"Oh." And that was pretty much everything Jim could think of. Leonard puffs quietly.

"Oh, huh? Not the reaction I expected."

"What was the one you wanted?," Jim asks hesitantly.

Leonard shrugs. "A kiss maybe, optimally of course."

Jim smiles slightly. "Yeah? Cause I could do that."


End file.
